LEEF Blog

Gameration 4: Implementing Games and Simulations within a Generational Context

Thanks Andy Petroski and Josh Stroup for their guest posst. Andy is a co-coordinator of LEEF and Director and Assistant Professor of Learning Technologies at Harrisburg University.  Josh Stroup is President of QTS Performance Solutions in Harrisburg PA.

Read Gameration 1
Read Gameration 2
Read Gameration 3

In this series, we’re taking a look at how the generation (Boomers, Generation X or Generation Y) might impact the way an individual thinks about and engages in games and ways in which learning professionals can adjust the game and simulation to address the expectations of each generation.  As we explore the generations keep in mind the characteristics are generalizations of the generation and not necessarily accurate for any one individual. 

This blog post summarizes the previous three gameration posts by listing game design approaches for each generation and indicating common approaches to game design that can address the preferences of all generations.

Game Design Element	Generation
Narrative and Character	Boomer	Gen X	Gen Y
Character	Might prefer to see the main character as a representation of them.  Consider allowing the learner to select a character from a variety of characters that “look like a cool version of them.”	Might prefer a character that starts the journey on his own and through “friends” or sources is able to achieve individual goals.  Allow the learner to vary their role in the game or simulation  so they can see the problem and solutions from a variety of perspectives and how it relates to their true. (real-life) role.  Consider placing the character in a leadership role from the beginning, regardless of whether or not that’s their work role, to learn skills by failing at roles to which they aspire.	Ambiguous position and appearance is OK.
Challenge	Set the challenge(s) in a context of saving the world or the organization from an “evil-doer” that threatens the world’s normal way of life.  At the same time, allow the player to expand the world or organization through successful defeat of the “evil-doer.”	Set the challenge(s) in the context of saving the character from an “evil-doer” that threatens individual advancement.	Save the “world” from an “evil-doer” that threatens the team or the project with an impact on larger, global issues.
Benefits	No specific suggestions based on the generational characteristics.	Identify the benefit of the game or simulation to the individual right up front.	Identify the benefit of the game or simulation at the beginning of game play and as part of implementation.
Rewards	Consider the character’s individual success within the context of helping the “boss” or the team accomplish success.	Provide rewards that indicate both professional and personal success.	Provide rewards that indicate team and “societal” success within the context of work and personal life balance.
Tone	Some formality is preferred.	Consider a tone and dialogue that is casual throughout the story.	Carry a casual tone and dialogue throughout the story and interaction.
Information and Activities	Boomer	Gen X	Gen Y
Introduction	No specific suggestions based on the generational characteristics.	Limit the introduction and storyline or provide options for minimizing the storyline and let learners jump in right away with role-playing and skill practice.	Limit the introduction and storyline or provide options for minimizing the storyline and let learners jump in right away with role-playing and skill practice.
Timeframe	Present the content in an environment that mimics the real world versus a metaphorical one.	Consider information and activities that do not follow a normal series of events or timeframes.  Emphasize failure when skipping important steps or ignoring rules can lead to dire consequences (including videos of real-world examples of such) and emphasize reward when skipping steps and bending the rules makes sense.	Enable short, quick experiences in the game over an extended timeframe
Media/Interaction	Include access to web sites, company policies, product manuals, video/audio and other people.  Allow synchronous or asynchronous connections to real people as part of play, but reduce the amount of multi-player interactions.	Use video and lots of graphics.	While media is an important part of the experience, use text-based information and activities as well.
Information	Provide opportunities for easy information access outside of the core interface.   Provide access to information beyond that absolutely necessary to play, but do so as an optional component or at the end of play.	Allow the player to evaluate the value of information and the information source as part of their journey.  Don’t be afraid to present access to a lot of information or opportunities for information all at once.  Ask the learner to keep track of information that might be required for later in the game.	Present access to a lot of information or opportunities for information.  Ask the learner to analyze the information to determine its application to solving the problem in the game or simulation.
Feedback	Boomer	Gen X	Gen Y
Feedback Frequency	Present feedback from the “boss”, including representing the boss’s approval rating throughout.	Provide feedback regularly throughout, including opportunities for coaching before starting a critical path or making key decisions.	Provide feedback regularly throughout and provide immediate feedback to almost any action in the game or simulation.
Feedback Context	Consider allowing the player to score their own performance as part of debrief and feedback in the game/simulation and show the individual score/results in the context of other players scores.	Provide feedback in the context of the individual’s success or failure toward achieving professional and personal success.	Indicate feedback in the context of their role in achieving the goal or solving the problem in the game or simulation and how their performance might impact the team.  Provide feedback in the context of the individual’s success or failure toward achieving professional and personal success.
Feedback Detail	Represent the player’s success as a status of their progress towards a goal through a meter or progress bar.  Explain the consequences of action or inaction as part of the experience with the context of limited resources.  Provide the opportunity for expanded feedback at the player’s discretion.	Provide informal feedback from characters that might be friends of colleagues of the main character.	Consider providing detailed feedback, but do so in an informal tone.
Summary/Conclusion of Play	Boomer	Gen X	Gen Y
Review Context	Indicate the individual status as well as the organization’s	Provide a review of the experience within the context of individual character/personal goals	Provide a review of the experience and how/what the learner could have done for a different outcome within the context of the team and achieving goals/deadline.
Review Game Play	Emphasize success or failure versus an overview of the experiences.	Provide a review of the experience and how/what the learner could have done for a different outcome.	Relate back to the greater good that might result from the learner’s actions in the game play and how their skill development might impact the greater good in their work/personal environment.
Additional Learning Activities	Consider a group review or debrief of play and outcomes in a synchronous format; face-to-face or online	Consider a group review or debrief of play and outcomes in an asynchronous and synchronous format; face-to-face or online.	Indicate what other learning activities might help to improve their performance.
Implementation	Boomer	Gen X	Gen Y
Technology Focus	Downplay the “coolness” of learning through games.	Downplay the technology and emphasize the story of the game and how it relates to real-world individual goals.  But, emphasize the approach as a new and innovate way to get results from training	Downplay the technology and even novelty of the solution being “game play for learning.”  Yers have grown up with all types of games and communications.  Gaming is not new to them nor is the use of games and simulations for learning.
Focus of Game Solution	Promote gaming as the best way – short of on-job experience – to simulate the “real world”, and to take into account the multiple variables that learners encounter there.	Promote the experience based on other players’ reviews.  Introduce the game through email, but consider a “launch” or question and answer session in a face-to-face setting as a follow-up to the email access to emphasize the importance of the game or simulation.	Introduce the game or simulation as a way to improve their performance and increase their contribution to the team’s success.

 

Address preferences throughout the generations:

• Give learners a chance to select their character from a pool of “realistic” and fictional characters that represent a variety of organizational/professional statuses.
• Indicate the learning benefit of the game or simulation to the individual at the beginning of game play.
• Indicate the consequences of the game action or inaction and indicate success for the individual character, the character’s “team” and the organization within the context of playing the game to defeat an “evil doer.”
• Indicate how professional success in the game play potentially impacts personal and societal success and vice versa.  
• Create dialogue and feedback in a professional, but casual tone.  Present main titles in formal text with less formal subtext.
• Let learners get started right away!  Don’t provide paragraph’s/screens of introduction before game play begins, but provide an option for learners to get more detail about game play and storyline if they want it.
• Allow variable timeframes within the game that allow dynamic game play as well as realistic series of events.
• Use an appropriate amount of media within the game play, but concentrate on interaction and immersion within the game (including the option for synchronous or asynchronous connections to real people as part of play) versus media-centric production.
• Present enough information in the game play to make progress in the game, and provide detailed information as an optional component of game play that will allow the player to excel.  Consider providing additional detail that may be contrary to game success as well so that the learner must evaluate the value and quality of the information.  Also consider additional access to information outside the game play that will support success in the game.
• Provide feedback throughout game play through status indicators and feedback from supporting “characters” in the game.  Also provide summary feedback that provides an opportunity for the learner to evaluate their own play, including showing their score/results relative to other players’ performance.  Indicate feedback based on the individual character’s, the “team’s” and/or the organization’s success. 
• Emphasize overall success or failure at the conclusion of game play, but provide an option for specific review of the experience including how/what the learner could have done differently at key points to improve the final outcome.
• Overall, consider an “out of game” debrief that reviews game play and connects it to the real-world activities that learners participate in each day.  Also provide opportunities to access advanced materials and additional learning opportunities that will continue to enhance performance as part of the debrief.
• Don’t focus on the technology or the fact that the learning solution is a “game” as part of implementation.  Rather, focus on the solution as the best way for learners to gain experience and practice critical skills and the individual and organizational impact the experience will have.
• Launch the game or simulation through multiple channels including the LMS, email, face-to-face meetings/discussions and synchronous online sessions that emphasize the storyline, the goals, feedback from play testers and the potential impact of the game play on individual and organization success.

It’s been fun to think about how different generational characteristics might impact game play,  game design and implementation throughout these posts.  In the end, any way that can help the learner have an “individualized” experience through various levels of user control is a positive approach in any learning solution.  Generational preferences are one way to consider those control points and variables.

This reflects just one of the topics to be explored at LEEF, the Learning and Entertainment Evolution Forum on June 17-18. LEEF is an interactive professional development event showcasing the convergence of learning and entertainment technologies and exploring the organizational, design and technical challenges for adopting games and simulations for learning.  Join Andy and presenters such as Jerry Heneghan of Applied Research Associates, Mike Cuffe, VP at Farmer’s Insurance, Phaedra Boinodiris of IBM, Koreen Olbrish of Tandem Learning, and more at LEEF this summer! The event will take place in Central Pennsylvania at Harrisburg University.  Go to www.LEEF2010.net to learn more about the program!